No, not THAT Mr Osborne (he may or may not love hen harriers – who knows?). This is another Mr Osborne, one J. Mark Osborne of Oxford.

Mr Mark Osborne is a grouse moor manager extraordinare. He is feted by the grouse-shooting industry for his ability to turn a ‘poorly performing’ grouse moor in to “something beyond the moor owner’s wildest dreams” (e.g. see here).

Well, it turns out that Mr Osborne loves hen harriers, according to an article that appeared on his website today – see here.

We were surprised to read it. Well, so might you be if you’ve read this and this.

Who knew?!

Rumour has it that Mr Osborne, as well as Mr Baikie (see last link above to find out who he is) have recently taken over the management of a number of neighbouring driven grouse-shooting estates in the Highlands. We’ll probably be blogging about this area in the not-too-distant future….just to report on the number of successfully breeding hen harriers and other raptors, natch!

Hen Harrier photo by Gordon Langsbury

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9 Responses to “Mr Osborne loves hen harriers!”

The entire thing makes me sick, killing some birds and animals so that they can preserve others so that they can kill them. I live on a shooting estate and for now all is quiet, there are no pheasants but for a few babies that have survived in our garden. In a couple of months the new clutch of babies will be turned out and they will be everywhere, unhardy and unready for the winter. Hit by cars in their dozens and shot from the sky by those that think such abuse of a a forced power is normal. If I had known half what we were to experience from moving here we would have certainly chosen another option, not that there were too many, ha!

Hi Sally, so can you tell us if yourself or any of your neighbors benefit from grouse shooting? According to many landowners, Gamekeepers & the Moorland Association millions go into the local economy to great benefit to local communities.

What a vomit inducing article…Osborne and Baikie, Glenogil Estate, names well known to me from my last employment – poisoned baits and subsidies removed after police activity – never a good sign…and electrified deer fences across the scottish hills!!..what a lovely advertisement for eco-tourism…When you read an article like this you should begin to understand why we still have raptor persecution – “the great Osborne”! – if you were in any doubt.

Interesting, re Mr Osbourne’s blog “In addition any marauding deer, either red or roe, are also controlled along with the other major tick carrier, hares.” Does that mean all mountain hares are obliterated across his entire estate?

Also “…when you see grouse, dippers, a peregrine, buzzards, black game, an osprey, pipits, wheatears, larks, golden plover, a sea eagle and any number of other species in a riot of biodiversity that just proves that a grouse moor is so much more than just a “grouse” moor. ” Sounds like Paradise….although I take it golden eagle is NOT on the list?

That sole problem regarding the plight of the Hen Harrier lies with the shooting industry, but Osborne can’t bring himself to admit it. Instead, he uses a quote from a Sunday Times correspondent stating “the main obstacle to the recovery and reintroduction throughout England of one of the most entrancing and endangered birds of prey is the RSPB.” Is that truly the case? There are times when the RSPB’s softer-than-soft approach to raptor persecution really angers me, but blaming the RSPB for the Hen Harrier situation is plain daft. In fact, the Sunday Times statement is of a farcical and infantile nature, and reveals the original author’s lack of understanding on the situation, and his deliberate failure to address the true problem. Lazy, poor, shoddy journalism, which we have come to expect from a biased and corrupt mainstream media.

However, getting back to that bewildering statement about the RSPB, I’m quite sure that it is not RSPB staff or volunteers that are destroying Hen Harrier nests, trampling on eggs and nestlings, shooting sitting females, trapping adult males, eliminating wandering juveniles, and targeting winter roosts, etc.

The fact remains, that despite decades of dialogue, the shooting industry has refused to regulate itself and has declared an unwillingness to change in any way. There is no reason whatsoever to believe any of that will change.

Perhaps if there is a resurgence in the English Hen Harrier breeding population, and we stop reading of widespread trapping and killing, then an element of respect will be given, but I suspect that such an occurrence is many, many years away – if it ever happens.

Having read the article calling the RSPB the biggest enemy of the hen harrier I,m surprised the Times published it, the author of the article is clearly stating if the RSPB wont sign an agreement to something it clearly does not agree with then the illegal persecution will continue, Is he gloating at the fact he represents organisations that parade as untouchable by the law. it is not the RSPB that are to blame for the demise of the hen harrier it is the enviromental hooligans posing as fieldsportsmen , simple qquestion, do the landowners have any control over their gamekeepers or not.